Wednesday, September 25, 2013

I'm stuck

Last week I precut all the stripes for Broken Herringbone quilt. The idea was that I sew pairs together and then I'll make large stripes instead of squares. When I started I wanted to see the pairs that go next to each other and my matchy side got into it. No more sewing pairs but planning ahead.


Since I couldn't just leave it on the floor I even set up "designer wall". I hung piece of batting on my bookshelf. It works.

I was playing with the fabrics and I didn't notice that is going off center. I had to adjust the width.

Then see what happened. My precut stripes were not wide enough. Ooops. So I ended the main stripe and I'm stuck. Not sure what I'll do next. Add one block to make the length I originally planned? Keep making stripes in this length and than add some kind of border to the bottom? Truly I don't know.



Linking up WiP
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

13 comments:

  1. I've got no suggestions on where to go from here but I just have to say it's looking gorgeous so far!

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  2. Do they all have to go in the same direction? Could you somehow change the direction of some of them so that you can use the precut stripes? I love the muted tones and prints you've selected.

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  3. Your broken herringbone strip is sew pretty! I was wondering if the precut strips you made would be long enough once the small piece of sashing was added??? You are doing a fantastic job, Vera!

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  4. It's looking lovely Vera! I have no advice on where to go from here, but I'm confident you will come up with some creative idea! The colors are beautiful....I can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

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  5. I don't have any suggestions about how to continue, but like the rest of the ladies, I think it's looking quite beautiful so far! That's not a design I could stitch accurately - heck - I go off centre when I sew 9 patches - I'm terrible, lol. That's why I like to cut big and trim down to size - or else just do Deliberate Wonk ;) I would paper piece that type of design so I would get at least SOMEWHAT of an accurate result, lol.

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  6. First of all, I must say I really like your fabrics and colors and quilt in progress. I have never made a broken herringbone, so I have no real words of wisdom. This is just me speculating out loud, so please feel free take anything I type with a large grain of salt. I am only responding because you say you are stuck. I suspect you will become unstuck very well all on your own, since you have brought this lovely pattern so far. The block pattern in your link has a lot of squaring tips and you are making strips so some of it may not apply and you need to find a good technique for sewing the strips.

    I have made braided borders and strips a few times and I once encountered a similar problem with it going off center. In my case, it was a problem keeping the long pieced strip straight and squared as I went along when I was using rectangular strips. Personally, I have found that if I cut a 45 degree angle on the outside edges of my strips, I get a more accurate braid. To show what I mean, take a look at this MO Quilt Co video that shows the cut for the friendship braid ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpHAp_pyVXQ ... hope this helps! I did not use the binding tool, I just used the 45 degree line on my cutting mat and my regular ruler to cut the outside edges of my strips before I sewed them into the braid. This helped me to keep the strip sides straight and my strip square.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your quilt. You will be teaching all of us how best to do this soon ... :) Pat

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  7. You could play with the minimal aspect and surround it with a solid to finish the quilt. If you wanted another strip of it you could make that shorter or longer and play with the amount of solid you have. I think it would look really cool to be surrounded by a lot more white.

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  8. Bugger! I don't have any sage advice on where to go, but I thought I would put a bug in your ear - these are the moments that generate the most creativity. Regardless of how hopeless and frustrating it might be right now, you'll figure it out. When you do, it will likely be a road you would not have traveled otherwise and you might find yourself with something amazing. Hang in there, it will work out!

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  9. I haven't made one, so no advice here, but I lOVE the colors you picked! I think it looks great, and I like how it goes from light to "dark". (I'm not sure if that's part of a broken herringbone or not, but I LOVE the effect!) I can't wait to see what you do next! The only advice I can give, is sometimes the next day an idea will come to you. I think our brains figure it out when we are sleeping or something :)

    -karrie

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    1. Thank you Karrie. It seems I got the idea I needed. I'm replying here since you appear as no reply.

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  10. Have a think about it for a while - sometimes a great idea will pop up just when I don't expect it. Lovely work - I'm very impressed! :-)

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  11. Don't know what to suggest as I've never done this pattern myself before, but what you made so far is absolutely gorgeous. I especially love the fabrics you used in the very first pictures!

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  12. Don't know what to suggest as I've never done this pattern myself before, but what you made so far is absolutely gorgeous. I especially love the fabrics you used in the very first pictures!

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